Truck hoist



March 29, 1960 B. LANDEN 2,930,499

' TRUCK HOIST Filed Feb. 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet l BY @ZA M ATTOP/YETRUCK HOIST Filed Feb. 18, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN To/a BER/mp0[An/DEN 6V fig- L March 29, 1960 B. LANDEN TRUCK HOIS'I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Feb. 18, 1958 //V l/EN TOP. BERNARD LANDE/V W W $054M 7 TRUCKHOIST Bernard Landen, Ida Grove, Iowa Application February 18, 1958,Serial No. 715,886

2 Claims. Cl. 214-75 transferring the freight to the ground or on aloading platform at the rear of the van.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hoist assembly havinga platform and mounted within a moving van or the like whereby theplatform is vertically and horizontally movable both within and withoutthe confines of the van box. 7

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a hoist assemblymounted within the body or box of a moving van or the like for loadingand unloading freight, the hoist assembly comprising vertically disposedstructure adapted to be mounted closely adjacent a side wall of the boxand horizontally disposed platform structure adapted to rest upon thefloor of the box, whereby to save pay load space during transport.

A feature of this invention is to provide a hoist assembly including asupporting unit mounted in a van box for pivotal movement, a cylinderunit secured to the supporting unit, a horizontally disposed platformunit mounted for vertical movement to the cylinder unit, an electricallyoperated hydraulic pump unit forthe cylinder unit, and controls for theunits.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hoist assemblymounted in the box of a moving van or the like for loading and unloadingpurposes which is economical of manufacture, of a simple and ruggedstructure, and effective in service.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which: Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of the rear of anopen van or truck box wherein is assembled an embodiment of the hoistassembly of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a reduced fragmentary perspective similar to Fig. 1 but takenfrom another view point and showing *atet r cylinder 60. A fluid line 62leads from the lower end 70 Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentaryperspective view of an area of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary, broken perspective view of an area ofFig. l; i

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 9-9 in Fig. l; andv t Fig. 10 is a schematic of the hydraulic pump unit for the hoistassembly of this invention.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 1, the open end of abody or box 15 of a truck or moving van is shown, the box including afloor 16, a side wall 17, a ceiling 18, and a rear corner post 19. Arear deck 21 is also shown. For the purpose of this invention the truckbox 15 is categorized as an elevated structure.

The hoist assembly of this invention, indicated generally at 22, ismounted within the truck box 15 adjacent the side wall 17 and includes avertically disposed supporting unit 23, adapted to be pivotally moved ina horizontal manner, a vertically disposed piston and cylinder unit 24secured to the supporting unit 23 for movement therewith, a pump unit 26and a motor 27 both of which are secured to the cylinder unit 24, and aplatform unit 28 mounted at the lower end of the cylinder unit 24 in ahorizontally disposed manner, and adapted to move horizontally andvertically.

The supporting unit 23 includes an elongated supporting post 29 mountedclosely adjacent the side wall 17 and the rear corner post 19 by top andbottom bearing structures, 31 and 32 respectively, whichare respectivelysecured to the ceiling 18 and the floor 16 of the truck box 15.

The top bearing structure 31, best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, includes afemale part 33 in block form which is securely fitted into the top ofthe supporting post 29. A hole 34 is formed in the female part 33 forthe reception of a circular male plug 36 which is integral with a plate37. The plate 37 is adapted to be connected to a relatively flattriangular plate 38, as by cap screws 39, the plate 38 in turn beingsecured, as by cap screws 40 to the box ceiling 18.

The bottom bearing structure 32 for the supporting post 29, best shownin Figs. 4 and 6, includes a female part 41 in block form having a hole42 for the reception of a circular male plug 43 mounted on a relativelyflat plate 44. Cap screws 46 are utilized to secure the plate 44 to the.floor 16 of the box 20. A pair of arcuately spaced holes 47 (Fig. 8) areformed in the plate 44 for the purpose of selectively receiving thelower end 48 of a vertically disposed latch rod 49 which is held inspaced relation to the supporting post 29, by a pair of verticallyspaced brackets 50.

A pair of supporting members 51 (Figs. 1 and 2) are secured to thesupporting post 29 in a vertically spaced relation, and are adapted tohold the cylinder unit 24 in a vertically disposed manner as by clampingthe unit 24 atthe upper and lower ends 52 and 53 thereof, respectively.Each supporting-member 51 (Fig. 7) comprises a relatively flat,triangular shaped main portion 54 secured at one end to the post 29, asby welding. A pair of arcuately formed flanges 57 extend from the otherend of the portion 54 and encircle the unit 24. A lip 58 is formed atthe free end of each flange 57, and by the means of a connecting device59, the lips 58 and thus the flanges 57 are secured about unit 24.

The cylinder unit 24 is a conventional one-way hydraulic unit comprisingan elongated cylinder 64) and a piston rod 61 (the piston head not beingshown) adapted for reciprocal movement within and externally of the ofthe cylinder 60 to the pump unit 26.

The pump unit 26 (Figs. 1 and 10) comprises a recgears 65, one of whichis driven by the motor 27, are

drivably mounted within the reservoir 64 for withdrawing fluid therefromthrough a passage 66 and into a gear chamber 67. The'fiuid is forcedthrough another passage 68 to a normally closed spring valve 69 fromwhence the fluid may flow to the fluid line '62 leading to the lower end53 of the cylinder 60. A normally closed bypass valve 72 is provided forpermitting fluid to flow from either the reservoir 64 or the positivepressure side of the cylinder unit 24 through passages 71 and 73 backinto the reservoir 64. Q

The bypass valve 72 is held in a normal position closing the bypasspassage 73 from the main line 62, by a spring 70. A rod 74 is connectedto the valve 72 at one end and at the other end is connected externallyof the reservoir housing 64 (Fig. 2) to a lever 76 mounted on a fulcrum77 which is secured to the top ofgthe housing 64. The free end of thelever 76 is secured to a pull cord 78 of a length to extend below therear deck 21. It may be seen, thus, that by pivoting the lever 76, as bypulling the cord 78 downwardly, the force of the spring 76 is overcome,thus opening the bypass valve 72.

The motor 27 is of a conventional type and is secured atop the reservoirhousing 64,'as by a bracket 63. Current is supplied to the motor 27 by abattery (not shown) which maybe installed underneath the floor 16, or bythe truck battery. A terminal bracket 79 is secured about the motor 27for the attachment of a conduit 81 to the battery and a conduit 82having a controlgrip 83 at one end thereof for starting and stopping themotor 27. The conduit 82 and the pump unit cord 78 are of the sameextended length and are joined at their free ends by the grip 83.

The platform unit 28, best shown in Figs. 1 and 9, comprises a pair ofrelatively flat plates 84 and 86, each having angularly depending sideflanges 87 and 88, the plates and the flanges arranged in a nestedrelationship. The platform is horizontally disposed so as to rest uponthe floor 16 of the truck box with one end 89 closely adjacent the sidewall 17. A circular housing 91 is socured to the platform at an innercorner thereof and receives therein the lower end 92 of the piston rod61 for attachment, as by a pin 93.

The operation of the hoist assembly 22 is as follows: Assuming theplatform 28 is in a lowered position on the floor 16 ofthe truck box 15,the platformis then in a position to remove freight from the truck orvan to a loading platform, or to the ground as the case may be. Afterthe freight has been placed on the platform 28, the control grip 83 isthen actuated to start the motor 27.

Operation of the motor 27 will rotate the gears 65 in the directionindicated by arrows (Fig. lb) whereupon fluid will be forced through theline 62 into the cylinder 60 at a position below the piston head andthus force the piston head and the rod 61 upwardly toward the top of thecylinder 60. This action will raise the platform 28 and the freightthereon above the floor 16. The control grip 83 is then actuated to turnthe motor 32 off, whereby the platform 28 remains at its last positiondue to the valves 69 and 72 being closed. The platform 28 and thecylinder unit 24 are then pivotally moved by manual or other means onthe supporting unit 23 to a position where the platform is outside theconfines of the truck box and beyond the rear deck 21.

. To lower the platform 28 and the freight thereon, the pull cord 78 ispulled so as to open the bypass valve 72, whereby the fluid below thepiston head in the cylinder is forced back through the line 62 andthrough the bypass valve into the reservoir 64. Under the. action ofgravity, the platform 28 drops slowly until it rests upon the loadinglatform on th ground.

ill

system operating as described hereinbefore.

To raise the platform unit 28, with or without freight thereon, thecontrol grip 83 is actuated to start the motor 27, whereby the platformunit 28 is raised by the same method of hydraulic operation outlinedhereinbefore. When the platform has been raised to a position above thelevel of the floor 16, it and the cylinder unit 24 are pivotally swungin a horizontal manner about the supporting unit 23 until the platform28 is spaced directly above the floor 16. The pull cord 78 is thenpulled to lower the platform onto the floor, the hydraulic Actuation ofthe control grip 83will oficourse stop the motor operation.

It is to be noted that as the supporting unit 23 andv the cylinder unit29 are both vertically disposed and adapted to be moved to a positionclosely adjacent a side wall 17 of the truck box 15, and as the platformunit 28 is adapted to rest flat upon the floor 16, the entire hoistassembly 22 uses but little of the pay load space in the .truck boxduring transportation of the moving van or truck.

Although only one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed anddescribed herein, it is not to be so limited as various modificationsand alternate constructions can be made within the full scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1 i

1. A hoist apparatus comprising supporting means having one end mountedon an elevated structure for horizontal rotational movement, .an uprightpiston and cylinder unit ,rotatably carried by said supporting means inspaced relationship thereto for movement therewith and for independentrotational movement of the piston of said unit relative thereto, withsaid piston being extendible from the lower end of the cylinder of saidunit and reciprocally movable in a vertical direction, hori' zontallydisposed platform means secured to the lower end of said piston wherebysaid platform means is rotatable with said piston at all reciprocallymoved positions of said piston, hydraulic means operably connected tosaid piston and cylinder unit, and control means ,for said hydraulicmeans.

2. For use with a moving van or the like having a box open at the rear,said box having a floor and a ceiling, a hoist assembly for loading andunloading freight into and from said box comprising, bearing structuresmounted on said floor and ceiling within a rear corner of said box,upright supporting means mounted in said bearing structures for rotationin a horizontal plane, said supporting means including laterallyextended arms, piston and cylinder meansincluding a reciprocally movablepiston rod a portion of which extends externally of the cylinder, meansmounting said cylinder to the free ends of said arms whereby saidcylinder is disposed in a vertical position for rotational movement withsaid supporting means and said piston rod is extendible downwardly fromsaid cylinder, 21 horizontally disposed platform means secured to saidpiston portion for vertical movement therewith and for rotationalmovement relative to said cylinder, whereby-said platform means ismovable above and below the level of said floor and swingable topositions to the inside and outside of said box, and means for supplyingand releasing fluid under pressure to said piston and cylinder means.

. References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSWhite May 21, 1957

